Apple will try to salvage a high-profile lawsuit against Google's Motorola Mobility unit on Wednesday at a crucial hearing in the smartphone patent wars between the two technology companies.
Sitting in Chicago, federal judge Richard Posner will hear Apple argue that it should be able to seek an order barring the sale of some Motorola phones. Posner's decision could affect the iPhone maker's ability to negotiate favourable licensing agreements in its legal fights against Motorola and other competitors including Samsung and HTC.
Apple has waged an international patent war since spring 2010, part of its attempt to either limit the growth of Google's Android or to restrict the number of iPhone-like features that it offers. So far it has had little effect; Android has gone in that time from around 100,000 phones being activated every day to more than 900,000 a day, and from less than 8m devices in use worldwide to more than 390m. Opponents of Apple, meanwhile, say it is using patents too aggressively in its bid to stamp out competition.
Motorola was first to move, suing Apple in October 2010, a move widely seen as a pre-emptive strike. Apple filed its own claims against Motorola the same month. Among the patents being asserted are some originally filed by NeXT Computer, the company set up by the late Steve Jobs which was then bought by Apple in 1996.
Posner issued a series of pretrial rulings that eliminated nearly all of Motorola's patent claims against Apple, while maintaining more of Apple's claims against Motorola. That meant Apple had more to gain at the trial, which had been set to start last week.
But earlier this month Posner cancelled the trial, saying in a tentative ruling that neither side could prove damages. An injunction would be "contrary to the public interest," he wrote.
Last week however Posner granted Apple's request for a hearing on a possible injunction, and ordered both sides to submit legal arguments in advance. Those documents were filed under seal on Monday.
Motorola may also ask for an injunction on the one patent in the case that it can still assert against Apple.
A clear victory in one of the US legal cases could strengthen Apple's hand in negotiating cross-licensing deals, where companies agree to let each other use their patented technologies, or to apply for bans on sales or changes to how devices which infringe its patents function.
So far, though, Apple has shown little inclination to license its patents to Android device makers, although it signed a Apple cross-licensing deal with Finland's Nokia in June 2011 in an out-of-court settlement after a protracted battle between the two over patents.
By contrast Microsoft has persuaded a number of Android handset manufacturers to sign cross-licensing deals which in effect mean that it gets paid a stipend every time one of the handsets is shipped.
Apple and Samsung are scheduled for trial on 30 July in federal court in San Jose, California.
UPDATE 1-Judge probes Apple in lawsuit vs. Google - Reuters
By Dan Levine
CHICAGO, June 20 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday strongly questioned Apple Inc's request for an injunction against Google Inc's Motorola Mobility unit at a crucial hearing in the smartphone patent wars between the two technology companies.
Federal Judge Richard Posner in Chicago said an injunction barring the sale of Motorola phones would have "catastrophic effects" on Motorola. Posner also questioned the worth of many software patents, noting deep systemic problems with the U.S. patent system.
"You can't just assume that because someone has a patent, he has some deep moral right to exclude everyone else" from using the technology, Posner said.
Apple has waged an international patent war since 2010, part of its attempt to limit growth of Google's Android system, the world's best-selling mobile operating platform.
Opponents of Apple, meanwhile, say the iPhone and iPad maker is using patents too aggressively in its bid to stamp out the competition.
Motorola sued Apple in October 2010, a move widely seen as a preemptive strike. Apple filed its own lawsuit against Motorola the same month.
Posner issued a series of pretrial rulings that eliminated nearly all of Motorola's patent claims against Apple, while maintaining more of Apple's claims against Motorola. That meant Apple had more to gain at the trial, which had been set to start last week.
Earlier this month Posner canceled the trial, saying in a tentative ruling that neither side could prove damages. An injunction would be "contrary to the public interest," Posner wrote.
Yet last week, Posner granted Apple's request for a hearing on a possible injunction. Motorola also asked for an injunction connected to one patent in the case.
In court on Wednesday, Apple attorney Matthew Powers said the company is not seeking an order barring the sale of Motorola phones. Rather, Apple would be satisfied with an injunction requiring Motorola remove Apple's patented technology from Motorola phones within three months.
Posner said it may be preferable to direct Motorola to pay Apple a compulsory royalty. Nothing would stop Apple from coming back into court after three months to claim Motorola is still infringing, he said.
"That's all we need is new actions, new suits, because there's not enough litigation worldwide between Apple and Android," Posner said.
The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, is Apple Inc and NeXT Software Inc v. Motorola Inc and Motorola Mobility Inc, 11-cv-8540.
Samsung makes Aussie connection, near Apple - Australian Financial Review
Zoë Fielding
Samsung Electronics Australia will open its first local flagship store in August, just a block away from rival Apple’s multi-storey concept shop on Sydney’s George Street.
The Samsung brand store will occupy 213 square metres of space vacated last weekend by fashion brand French Connection at 432-450 George Street, by the Myer entrance.
The store will be the technology company’s first permanent retail outlet in Australia. It previously relied on other retailers to sell its products to people who wanted to buy from physical shops.
The company has been battling for its share of the smartphone market with Apple, which opened its first Australian concept shop at 367 George Street in 2008.
Last October, Samsung launched a temporary shop on George Street two doors from the Apple store to ambush its rival’s launch of the iPhone 4S.
From the pop-up shop, which was open for just one week, Samsung offered its Galaxy SII smartphones for sale for $2 to the first 10 people in line each day. People queued for days to buy the phones.
Samsung has lodged a development application with the City of Sydney council to spend $120,000 on a shopfront display and signage for the store, which is part of Westfield Sydney, although separated from the main shopping mall.
A spokesman for Samsung declined to comment on the company’s plans for Australia, but it is understood to be finalising its retail strategy and deciding which products to offer through the shop.
Sydney’s George Street and neighbouring Pitt and King streets have been attracting luxury and international fashion brands, while local retailers struggle with weak sales.
British brands Topshop and Topman are preparing to open in the old Gowings building, across Market Street from the Samsung store.
Six global retailers opened shops in central Sydney last year, including Zara, Burberry and Louis Vuitton. Others, such as Point Zero, H&M and Uniqlo, are expected to follow.
Motorola’s new series Razr introduced to Indian market - internationalreporter.com
Motorola Razr Maxx would be on stores from June 21
Motorola raised curtain from its new series Razr, today on June 20 2012. It introduced two smartphones Razr Maxx and Razr V for its Indian market. Both these phones have peculiar features which are sure to attract number of buyers with price tag of Rs. 31,590. Motorola Razr Maxx will lure buyers for its features such as huge battery of 3,300 mAh which as company claims can give a user a talk-time of 17.6 hours on a single charge.
It has a screen of 4.3 inch with super AMOLED advanced display and is just 8.99 mm thick. Razr Maxx runs on Andriod 2.3 and comes with dual core processor of 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9. Some of the other highlights are its 8 MP camera and 1024 MB RAM. This phone is priced at Rs 31,590 and can be brought from any retail stor from 21 June.
Motorola Razr V, on the other hand, features a dual-core processor of 1.2 GHz and is just 8.35mm thin. It has a 4.3 inch capacitive touchscreen and runs on Andriod 4.0 (Icecream Sandwich) operating system. Razr V will have 1 GB RAM and will come with 32 GB expandable memory. The price for this smartphone has not been out yet but is believed that this phone will be available in the market in the third quarter of the year.
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